~ reviews ~
The Art of Poetry Film with Cheryl Gross: “A Nose That Can See Is Worth Two That Sniff”
A Nose That Can See Is Worth Two That Sniff
poem: William Carlos Williams
animation: Isaac Holland
narration: William Carlos Williams
sound and music: Skillbard
Part 4 of Poetry of Perception, an eight-part series featuring representations of perception and sensation
produced by Nadja Oertelt
2015
It’s great to see The Fundamentals of Neuroscience embrace video poetry. Any organization that uses an art form such as this is in my opinion groundbreaking. The main reason why I even mention it is because by doing so it increases our audience.
A Nose That Can See Is Worth Two That Sniff is one in a series of animations illustrating their online course at Harvard University. Another fun one to watch, although not a video poem, is Perception Is In The Eye Of The Beholder:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1B07g8WVCs
Makes me want to enroll in the course.
Now getting back to A Nose That Can See Is Worth Two That Sniff: The work is incredibly charming. Beginning with the visual (my favorite place to start), the colors are somewhat subdued. This allows the viewer to glide through the poem without distraction. The illustrations are made up of flat vector computer-generated shapes. The old scratchy film effect combined with vector imagery makes it even more interesting. It’s a great blend and adds to the atmosphere of the piece. The outcome is not only successful, but bears the imprint of the artist’s unique style. I love the use of type, and the movement is terrific.
There is an echo in the voice. My guess is that it was recorded on computer or using a small microphone. It’s the poet’s own voice, which is a nice, simple touch. Perhaps the sound is deliberately distressed to match the visuals.
All in all, A Nose That Can See is Worth Two That Sniff is well worth checking out.
The Art of Poetry Film with Cheryl Gross: “Western Civilization”
Western Civilization
poem by Peter Jay Shippy
directed and animated by Alicia Reece (MotionGnome) for Motionpoems
lettering and lead actor: Emory Allen
make-up: Ashley Burke
music: Joey Verskotzi
additional animation: Valerie Lockhart
2014
Western Civilization is a well-produced, breathtaking piece. Based on a poem by Peter Jay Shippy, it was one of many short films to debut at the 2014 Motionpoems premiere. The design, poetry and voiceover work flawlessly together. This is as close to perfection as one can get.
I’ll begin with the design. Alicia Reece works with a limited color palette, then switches to black and white, then back to incorporating color against a scratchboard-like background. Add an old scratchy film effect, and we are taken back in time. If I’m not mistaken, the animators used actual video footage and applied the cartoon (special effect) using the Adobe program After Effects. This is a nice, smooth way to simulate animation. It appears that Reece does a lot of commercial work, which is apparent judging from the execution.
The poem is wonderful. It’s hip-hop coupled with American twang. Sort of like Paris, Texas meets Rihanna. The voiceover fits perfectly. I’m back in the 60s or 70s, tripping on mushrooms or peyote and looking for god. Or in this case Keith Moon (former drummer of The WHO.) The reference to popular music is a bonus. This makes the piece a total postmodern experience—or pop-culture experience if you will.
The combination of styles and the use of type all blend successfully, which clearly communicates how we can know, and have known, the American west. I’m ready to get in the car and drive all the way to New Mexico, or in this case Utah. I think it would be fun meeting up with a shaman who is familiar with rock music.
Western Civilization is truly a beautiful piece with a wicked sense of humor.
Poetry Film Magazine debuts in PDF and print
The inaugural issue of Poetry Film Magazine, titled “Faszination Poetryfilm?” is available for download. (Disclaimer: it includes an essay of mine.) There’s also a print version from Literarische Gesellschaft Thüringen, though I’m told supplies are limited. The content has all appeared on the Poetryfilmkanal website over the course of 2015 (which makes it easy for us Anglophones to copy and paste the German-language portions into Google Translate), but the magazine is beautifully designed and easy to read, so I’m finding myself revisiting the essays and reviews with real pleasure. Here’s the flip-book version from Issuu.
In their email to authors, Poetry Film Magazine editors Aline Helmcke and Guido Naschert included two further announcements:
We have more good news: We herewith announce the first Weimar Poetry Film Prize! Our application for funding was successful and the prize will be awarded at the backup_festival (May 18-22) this year. The call for entries will open during the next days and will run until March 15th.
Regarding our blog: the next call for essays „Sound and Voice-Over in Poetry film“ will open around the end of March/beginning of April. We are very eager to get to know your thoughts and receive your new submissions.
I’ll share more details as they become available.
The Art of Poetry Film with Cheryl Gross: “Working Order”
Working Order
poem by Dora Malech
video by Gentleman Scholar, for Motionpoems
2015
Gentleman Scholar is a group of solution-driven artists situated at the intersection of story, style and technology. Wielding extensive experience in strategy, live-action production, animation, digital and print, we help the world’s leading agencies and brands tell their stories.
—bio on Vimeo
Gentleman Scholar created fabulous effects to illustrate the poem “Working Order” by Dora Malech. They have used a combination of animation programs to achieve a fluidity that enhances as well as captures the essence of the poetry. I personally prefer this painterly approach (there are several brush stroke filters in Photoshop that imitate painting) to the usual bells and whistles that go along with 3-D modeling, Maya and whatever else, that intends to dazzle the viewer.
The pace is fast and combined with a motion blur, Working Order gives the illusion that the paint is moving. It would be great to see it in 3-D. That would be a nice touch.
I love great art that moves. Gentleman Scholar are highly successful in their application of digital painting. A good many video-poetry artists struggle to get the same impact using illustration, photography and/or enhanced video. This group shines through and brings new life to the genre.
The combination of Malech’s poem and Gentleman Scholar’s visuals has resulted in a stunning work of art. By using this method they have not only bumped poetry video up a notch, but have succeeded in making it the quintessential platform of the 21st century.
For Gentelman Scholar’s own assessment of the video, as well as the full credits, see their website.
The Art of Poetry Film with Cheryl Gross: “Ursula”
Ursula
poem by Robert Peake
film by Robert Peake and Valerie Kampmeier
2013
Ursula reminds me of a time when the world was adjusting to the aftermath of World War II. This videopoem has the feeling of the Beat era. I love the grainy black-and-white imagery, the car and street video played in reverse.
I love the bear metaphor. Women aren’t usually referred to as bears, at least to my knowledge. I suppose bear is a term for a woman whose ethics are questionable. However, I feel the images of the bear and woman at the end could work better if they were interwoven from the beginning rather than left at the end. It’s almost as if the artist is making sure we understand the symbolism. I think he should give his audience more credit. I’m sure we would get the meaning without having to be told. It’s nice footage and should be utilized throughout the video. This would give the visual a stronger presence. Sometimes this particular medium gets choppy. I would rather see the artist perceive the work more like a painting rather than a puzzle.
Black and white, a car video in reverse, Ursula is a real “dame.” She is the quintessential babe who travels through a Kerouac novel—And The Hippos Were Boiled In Their Tanks comes to mind. (That’s the book he co-wrote with Burroughs.) She is a tough-cussing, cigarette smoking, hard-drinking, die-young broad. Ursula is the meat and potatoes of a generation that rejected the post-WW II suburban Americana to live the subterranean lifestyle. Ursula is nostalgia at its best.
The Art of Poetry Film with Cheryl Gross: Martha McCollough
When I fall in love I fall hard. Such is the case with Martha McCollough. Recently Dave Bonta posted Break & Remake, one of Martha’s outstanding video poems. Not wanting to review something that was so close to having been published, I went to Vimeo and checked out her other work.
The other night I went to the opera and saw Lulu by Alban Berg with sets by William Kentridge. I love opera, but the main reason why I went was to see Kentridge’s sets. His use of typography, animation, and black and white imagery (drawings and video) was outstanding and set the tone for the time in which it was written. It was DADA (my favorite art movement) in its entirety. I felt like I was there in the 30s right before the fascists dubbed all experimental and political art Degenerate. I won’t go into critiquing Lulu. It was an amazing moment.
The real star here is Martha McCollough. Her use of type and collage allows us to enter into a world of pop culture, oppression, and high art. Much like Lulu, her flawless use of movement captures that wonderful feeling of nostalgia. To me, Martha is timeless.
I will not single out one piece to analyze and critique. I think the entire collection of videos should be watched. In viewing the progression of Martha’s work, I have found an artist who understands the marriage of video, illustration, fine art and poetry.
The Art of Poetry Film with Cheryl Gross: “Millionaire”
Millionaire
Poem by Mab Jones
Animation by Lauren Orme and Jordan Brookes
Dedicated to (about) the poet Johnny Giles
2015
A love poem in every sense of the word, Millionaire is uncomplicated and embraces the value of being in love. This video poem is wonderful and exquisitely charming. Unpretentious and lovely, it gets the point across without being sappy or corny.
I love the simple frame-by-frame line animation. The motion aspect is wonderful, but when I close my eyes and just listen to the audio, the poem still works. Every aspect of this video poem can stand alone, but all together, it is a very special treat.
There is nothing complicated about this piece and that’s why it works. No kitchen sink, just plain and uncomplicated. Millionaire follows the theory and quote by Mies van der Rohe: less is more. So many times, we as artists fall in love with our work and want to incorporate every detail. This is not always necessary in order to get one’s point across.
Millionaire is a true love poem. It is stunning in its plainness and doesn’t waver. There is not much else to say, just a beautiful piece.
The Art of Poetry Film with Cheryl Gross: “Andrew Wyeth, Painter, Dies at 91”
Andrew Wyeth, Painter, Dies at 91
Poem by L. S. Klatt
Film by Tom Jacobsen
Motionpoems 2012
This delightful videopoem glides along on a journey that inescapably comes to an end with the death of the great artist, Andrew Wyeth.
Visually this film is a real treat for me. I work with the same program Tom Jacobsen uses, Adobe After Effects. Jacobsen succeeds beautifully at weaving in the software while allowing the imagery to follow the words. The images reveal aspects of Wyeth’s work, creating an exquisite statement.
Continuity is a huge issue for me. Jacobsen’s use of two very different art forms, drawing and photography, is successful: the two seamlessly overlap without distracting the viewer. There are times when an artist will throw in a photo for whatever reason, and it doesn’t always work. But in this film it helps to create a painterly rhythm. The use of abstract forms such as ink drops also adds to the flow, assisting the foreground images as they reveal the spoken words.
I love the music, and I think it’s a good fit. But however slight a criticism it may be, I could do without the sound effects. Why throw in the kitchen sink when the piece is so pleasing and pure?
The Art of Poetry Film with Cheryl Gross: “Death And Co”
Death And Co
Poetry by Silvia Plath (“Death & Co.”)
Directed by David Lobser
Produced by Troublemakers.tv for The Poetry Movement, the Josephine Hart Poetry Foundation
2015
Death And Co is so damn creepy and disturbing that it makes my skin crawl. I love it. The animation is awesome. I’m still trying to figure out how it was done. My guess is the artist(s) used Maya or Cinema 4D. The dark, atmospheric quality gives the viewer a feeling of being in a dreadful, unearthly place. Plath leads us into this strange and unsettling world where there’s no turning back. Like it or not, we must deal with living in her bitter reality.
Sylvia Plath’s prophecy offers us a disturbing glimpse into a place where suffering is the only feeling that exists. It’s both sad and enlightening, but unless you’re a lover of darkness and dystopian forecasting, this is a very hard place to sit and digest. It’s as if we were able to insert a camera into Plath’s mind and capture her nightmares. This video is successful in exposing just that.
Is Plath a soothsayer? Possibly. As we know, she suffered from depression and committed suicide at the age of 30. The Vimeo description of this poem states that she suffered from postpartum depression. I’m not a mental health clinician but upon reading a bit about her history, she had made several attempts at suicide. This leads me to believe she was bi-polar. However, at the end of the day Plath was and still is one of America’s greatest poets regardless of what demons haunted her. Perhaps without this infliction, or inspiration if you will, the world would have been robbed of a literary great.
I also would like to give credit to Troublemakers.tv. They did a fabulous job in capturing the unsettling genius Sylvia Plath is known and admired for.
The Art of Poetry Film with Cheryl Gross: “Scalia’s Poetry Slam”
View on Vimeo or at Daily Kos (which includes the text of the found poem).
Scalia’s Poetry Slam
Animation by Mark Flore
2015
For many years I made a living poking fun at people. And why not? There was money to be made and I was good at it. I’m still pretty good at it but now I’m a bit more reluctant to parade my sarcasm and wit for fear of backlash. There are those who misinterpret humor, sarcasm, satire, etc., but as the saying goes, fuck ’em if they can’t take a joke.
That being said, this week’s (bi-monthly) review is an animation that pokes fun at Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia—as well as the poetry community. The creator Mark Flore takes a political stand and combines it with slam poetry. The result is hilarious.
Scalia’s Poetry Slam is well done, unpretentious and fun. It reminds me of how unassuming animation on TV used to be when I was a kid. Aside from the process being labor intensive (artists would hand-draw every movement), I assume there was a time factor involved as well. The cartoons were created for network television and clients can be demanding. The artists had to get the message across using a minimal amount of movement. This applied to some animation houses but not all (Disney had larger teams and produced multiple projects). Much like the cartoons of yesteryear, this one gets the point across without all the bells and whistles. I like to compare it to the style of humor in a New Yorker cartoon: it’s the old less-is-more theory. The piece relies on simplicity to carry the joke. Scalia’s Poetry Slam does a good job in embracing irony and helps put a smile on one’s face, reminding us not to take ourselves too seriously.
The Art of Poetry Film with Cheryl Gross: “At The Same Moment”
https://vimeo.com/68786837
At The Same Moment
Animation by Ezra Wube
2013
Let me begin by saying that although I appreciate the craft, I am not a poet. That’s why I partnered up with Nicelle Davis and assorted other poets to illustrate books and video poems. I visually interpret their words and manipulate the images to move in sync with the audio, thereby merging the two art forms. This is what video poetry is all about, the combination of visual, audio and time.
At The Same Moment is exactly that. It is a video poem that incorporates time and visual art, yet successfully transcends the absence of words. Again, I am not a poet, but watching this piece I feel as if I can write my own, thus allowing me to shift seamlessly from illustrator to writer and then motion artist.
At The Same Moment consists of stop motion animation paint on a single canvas. Personally I think it takes a lot of guts to paint, photograph and cover the images with new ones. Every image is well done, and they have a beautiful quality to them. It reminds me of the artist/animator William Kentridge who draws an image in charcoal, photographs it and erases it but not completely. He continues to draw over on the same paper, leaving a ghost of his images.
There is something to be said for painting. For me, good painting is uplifting and bad painting is annoying. This coupled with movement is perhaps how this type of art should be displayed, on a monitor in someone’s home, office, museum, etc. It would be a wonderful alternative to static art.
The Art of Poetry Film with Cheryl Gross: “Ursonate (an excerpt)”
https://vimeo.com/66612735
Ursonate (an excerpt)
Poetry by Kurt Schwitters
Film by William Shum
2013
According to the description on Vimeo, this is
A short excerpt from Kurt Schwitters’ sound poem, “Ursonate”. The typeface was created from scratch and inspired by the “Merz” art Schwitters created, hence the name, “Merzy”.
Kurt Schwitters, along with Hugo Ball and Hans Kasper Ivan Karp, was a major pioneer of sound poetry. This art form gained recognition in the early 20th century. A product of Dada, sound poetry has been popular in several movements and has successfully influenced and moved into postmodernism. I would say with confidence that its influence has also made its way into hip-hop and rap.
Dada is probably my favorite movement. There were so many rules that were broken. It gave significance to graphic design, paving the way for it to become a viable art form and not just a vehicle for advertisements. Dada allowed for experimentation. I believe this way of thinking was the result of World War I and its aftermath. Artists always have a lot to say but at this point in time, there wasn’t much to lose and Europe was in the process of trying to recover. Needless to say, the impact of history will always be significant because we use art to record our culture. That said, I will get on with my opinion of this mini masterpiece.
Ursonate is one of Schwitters’ better-known works. The video by William Shum is an excerpt from the poem. The typeface may be the first created from scratch and used in a video poem. What I like most about this piece is the fact that it is stimulating and I have no idea what the poet is saying. I don’t need to know. The message comes across perfectly through the images and the recording of the sound, which is Schwitters’ voice.
I love the black and white video; the imagery of toys (by the way, I had the Charlie Weaver Bartender toy that appears in the beginning of the video) interlaced with street scenes, dogs, and stoop-sales continues to enhance the feeling of a time that, although not too long ago, is rapidly dissolving. The type flies in, out, overlaps—creating a flow that keeps us at this point in time. The subway scene at the end is a very nice touch. This too has sound, which although it isn’t made up of words, seems to complete the video very nicely.
If sound poetry was invented for performance, then video poetry could be a feasible fit. It’s as if the two genres were made for each other.
Here’s what the Wikipedia article on sound poetry says about the poem:
Schwitters composed and performed an early example of sound poetry, Ursonate (1922–32; a translation of the title is Original Sonata or Primeval Sonata). The poem was influenced by Raoul Hausmann’s poem “fmsbw” which Schwitters heard recited by Hausmann in Prague, 1921. Schwitters first performed the piece on 14 February 1925 at the home of Irmgard Kiepenheuer in Potsdam. He subsequently performed it regularly, both developing and extending it. He published his notations for the recital in the last Merz periodical in 1932, although he would continue to develop the piece for at least the next ten years.
